St. George’s, April 9, 2009, (GIS) – Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines feels vindicated for throwing his support behind regional airline, LIAT. The Vincentian leader, who was in Grenada for last weekend’s Trades’ Union Council meeting, said that in 2002 he was approached with a proposal to merge LIAT with Caribbean Star, which was owned by Texan billionaire Allan Stanford. Dr. Gonsalves says Sir Allan, who now faces fraud charges in the United States, offered to invest some US$17 million as part of the proposed merger. Prime Minister Gonsalves declined the offer, and now says his decision to stick with LIAT and invest in the airline was the right choice. Using the airline merger offer as an example, The Vincentian Prime Minister said money should not always be the first priority in the minds of government leaders. “He said to me, ‘Prime Minister, before we start talking about the airline, let me tell you something. I own 61 companies and when I say I own them I mean that. I answer to no one,’” related Dr. Gonsalves. He also quoted Sir Allan as saying, “My Company has a net asset base of US$17 billion and in business, I get what I want. I have an airline so why should you be using your country’s limited resources and encouraging others to invest in an airline?” Dr. Gonsalves said he listened to Sir Allan before responding: “Mr. Stanford, I appreciate every single thing you’re telling me and I’m almost intimidated. However, in this mix of issues I want you to reflect on one matter: if money was everything, then the Americans would not have lost the war in Vietnam!” The Vincentian Prime Minister concedes that LIAT has been struggling. However, he says it still has been able to weather every storm, unlike Caribbean Star which has folded. “We were losing US$20 million a year, he was losing 30 and 35 million,’’ said Dr. Gonsalves. “Both of us were on a race to the bottom, and he who had the most money blinked first.”